Director

Adaptation of Lottie Moggach’s cult YA novel, written by Skins creator Bryan Elsley for Netflix and E4. I directed the first three of six hour-long episodes that combine live action with full CG virtual reality sequences. Launches 2018.

Multi-award winning police drama written by Shameless creator Paul Abbott for Channel 4. I directed episodes four and six of the first series and some of the final episode of the second series.

Nominated BAFTA Award Best Drama Series, winner RTS Award Best Drama.

Guardian – “Paul Abbott’s new comedy police drama No Offence has the makings of an instant hit for Channel 4, launching with 2.5 million viewers, its biggest midweek drama launch for more than three years.”

Independent – “No Offence is everything Shameless fans could’ve hoped for and more… a gleefully outrageous cop show… an hour of riotously enjoyable television… It's the sort of show that has you spending the first half wondering what the hell's going on, and the second hoping that, whatever it is, will never, ever end.”

Radio Times – “No Offence is an addictive, funny and disturbing cop show with the glorious humanity of Shameless. Paul Abbott's eight-part police series lurches from the comic to the grim, never letting you get too comfortable. And it makes for a thrilling watch.”

Evening Standard – “Mouthy, cocksure and with verve to spare… No Offence is quite extraordinary because it surpasses the expectations of the police procedural while also delivering drama in Abbott’s signature style. It’s quietly revolutionary but feels entirely natural.”

Radio Times - “It's still very unusual to have three women fronting a gritty, funny, intelligent TV drama – and viewers were thrilled. As Joanna Scanlan (The Thick of It), Alexandra Roach (Utopia) and Elaine Cassidy (Harper's Island) solved crimes with the help – and sometimes hindrance – of their male counterparts, Twitter was in awe of the female triumvirate.”

Guardian – “Abbott is back with No Offence, where you can see the influence of police procedural from State of Play, the pantomime grotesquery of Shameless, and as always that brilliant ear for the individual voice.”

Multi-award winning police drama written by Shameless creator Paul Abbott for Channel 4. I directed episodes four and six of the first series and some of the final episode of the second series.

Nominated BAFTA Award Best Drama Series, winner RTS Award Best Drama.

Guardian – “Paul Abbott’s new comedy police drama No Offence has the makings of an instant hit for Channel 4, launching with 2.5 million viewers, its biggest midweek drama launch for more than three years.”

Independent – “No Offence is everything Shameless fans could’ve hoped for and more… a gleefully outrageous cop show… an hour of riotously enjoyable television… It's the sort of show that has you spending the first half wondering what the hell's going on, and the second hoping that, whatever it is, will never, ever end.”

Radio Times – “No Offence is an addictive, funny and disturbing cop show with the glorious humanity of Shameless. Paul Abbott's eight-part police series lurches from the comic to the grim, never letting you get too comfortable. And it makes for a thrilling watch.”

Evening Standard – “Mouthy, cocksure and with verve to spare… No Offence is quite extraordinary because it surpasses the expectations of the police procedural while also delivering drama in Abbott’s signature style. It’s quietly revolutionary but feels entirely natural.”

Radio Times - “It's still very unusual to have three women fronting a gritty, funny, intelligent TV drama – and viewers were thrilled. As Joanna Scanlan (The Thick of It), Alexandra Roach (Utopia) and Elaine Cassidy (Harper's Island) solved crimes with the help – and sometimes hindrance – of their male counterparts, Twitter was in awe of the female triumvirate.”

Guardian – “Abbott is back with No Offence, where you can see the influence of police procedural from State of Play, the pantomime grotesquery of Shameless, and as always that brilliant ear for the individual voice.”

Independent – “Along with tales of flings, mental health issues, alcohol abuse, non-answering mobiles and women trying to get pregnant or desperately trying not to, Ordinary Lies offers a raw reflection of the rich variety of personal angst in real-life Britain, an almost Chaucerian ride through modern lives and mores.”

Daily Mail - “See it and believe it! The Beeb's thriller about liars now rings true… the new series is instantly much more engaging. This is a six-part series, with each episode focusing on a different character and much of the storyline was given over to setting up their mini-dramas — the neurotic divorcee, the office manager receiving letters from prison and so on. It’s taken a while to get this set-up right, but Ordinary Lies now promises to be clever, rewarding television.”

Guardian - "The great, underused Con O’Neill retunrs to primetime after his role in Happy Valley last year. In the second series of this ensemble anthology show, he stars as Joe, a popular manager at a sportswear wholesaler. After an accident at work, he returns home to find everything not quite as he expects it, setting in motion a series of events which uncovers a wealth of family secrets and abuse. O’Neill excels as a workplace-banter legend who’s pushed to the edge.”

The Times – “This new series looks set to be much stronger because, rather than being based on a single, labored deception, the “ordinary lies” of the title refers more generally to things hidden or unspoken.”

Arts Desk – “The concept is somewhere between single drama and series: to stay in one place while shifting focus from one character to another. Paul Abbott did it in Clocking Off, telling a different story each week about a group of workers in a Manchester textile plant. Jimmy McGovern exported the idea to The Street, where he opened one door at a time to find out what was going on inside. The common denominator of both series was scriptwriter-for-hire Danny Brocklehurst. Brocklehurst took the format and made it his own in Ordinary Lies…

It was all held together by O’Neill, adept at switching from relentless bonhomie to febrile suspicion. Quite gripping.”

Independent – “Along with tales of flings, mental health issues, alcohol abuse, non-answering mobiles and women trying to get pregnant or desperately trying not to, Ordinary Lies offers a raw reflection of the rich variety of personal angst in real-life Britain, an almost Chaucerian ride through modern lives and mores.”

Daily Mail - “See it and believe it! The Beeb's thriller about liars now rings true… the new series is instantly much more engaging. This is a six-part series, with each episode focusing on a different character and much of the storyline was given over to setting up their mini-dramas — the neurotic divorcee, the office manager receiving letters from prison and so on. It’s taken a while to get this set-up right, but Ordinary Lies now promises to be clever, rewarding television.”

Guardian - "The great, underused Con O’Neill retunrs to primetime after his role in Happy Valley last year. In the second series of this ensemble anthology show, he stars as Joe, a popular manager at a sportswear wholesaler. After an accident at work, he returns home to find everything not quite as he expects it, setting in motion a series of events which uncovers a wealth of family secrets and abuse. O’Neill excels as a workplace-banter legend who’s pushed to the edge.”

The Times – “This new series looks set to be much stronger because, rather than being based on a single, labored deception, the “ordinary lies” of the title refers more generally to things hidden or unspoken.”

Arts Desk – “The concept is somewhere between single drama and series: to stay in one place while shifting focus from one character to another. Paul Abbott did it in Clocking Off, telling a different story each week about a group of workers in a Manchester textile plant. Jimmy McGovern exported the idea to The Street, where he opened one door at a time to find out what was going on inside. The common denominator of both series was scriptwriter-for-hire Danny Brocklehurst. Brocklehurst took the format and made it his own in Ordinary Lies…

It was all held together by O’Neill, adept at switching from relentless bonhomie to febrile suspicion. Quite gripping.”

One-off drama for BBC Two about a new teacher and troubled pupil trying to connect.

“It really seems real, because of utterly convincing performances…The classroom scenes have such an authenticity about them that I really thought I was there, torn between feeling Mr Bately’s discomfort and frustration and wanting to throw things at him when his back was turned (then being weirdly won over and fascinated by his linear equations too). And the kid who plays Mark (George Whitehead) is brilliant, doing rage and defiance and hurt all at once – an extraordinary performance. It’s all brilliant – immediate, tense, funny, sad, touching, relevant. If you missed it, go and stand at the back of the room. Or, alternatively, go and watch it on iPlayer.”

Sam Wollaston, The Guardian

“An outstanding drama… top marks, as I couldn’t help myself murmuring.”

Phil Hogan, The Observer

"Worthy but far from dull, you will be entirely riveted throughout. Making his screen debut as troubled Mark, George Whitehead is a revelation."

The Daily Mail

“So why was Excluded so much better than Waterloo Road? Well, first of all, the acting, which had far fewer meaningful looks, double takes and general business than you get in whole evenings of prime-time.”

Andrew Billen, The Times

“Within a single hour this story of a struggling boy in a struggling school told us more about the state of the nation’s education than a hundred worthy documentaries.”

Keith Watson, Metro

"a thoughtful, slow-burn kind of storytelling that brings a skilled hand to the tale of a surly pupil and the teacher who tries to connect with him... the circumstances are beautifully sketched and horribly convincing... deftly played... it's subtle, touching and feels as though it could be unfolding right now at a school near you."

Radio TImes

"a candid glimpse into life at an urban comprehensive... that the film is partly improvised lends it authenticity and its tone ranges from bleak to uplifting without getting sentimental. Full marks." *****

One-off drama for BBC Two about a new teacher and troubled pupil trying to connect.

“It really seems real, because of utterly convincing performances…The classroom scenes have such an authenticity about them that I really thought I was there, torn between feeling Mr Bately’s discomfort and frustration and wanting to throw things at him when his back was turned (then being weirdly won over and fascinated by his linear equations too). And the kid who plays Mark (George Whitehead) is brilliant, doing rage and defiance and hurt all at once – an extraordinary performance. It’s all brilliant – immediate, tense, funny, sad, touching, relevant. If you missed it, go and stand at the back of the room. Or, alternatively, go and watch it on iPlayer.”

Sam Wollaston, The Guardian

“An outstanding drama… top marks, as I couldn’t help myself murmuring.”

Phil Hogan, The Observer

"Worthy but far from dull, you will be entirely riveted throughout. Making his screen debut as troubled Mark, George Whitehead is a revelation."

The Daily Mail

“So why was Excluded so much better than Waterloo Road? Well, first of all, the acting, which had far fewer meaningful looks, double takes and general business than you get in whole evenings of prime-time.”

Andrew Billen, The Times

“Within a single hour this story of a struggling boy in a struggling school told us more about the state of the nation’s education than a hundred worthy documentaries.”

Keith Watson, Metro

"a thoughtful, slow-burn kind of storytelling that brings a skilled hand to the tale of a surly pupil and the teacher who tries to connect with him... the circumstances are beautifully sketched and horribly convincing... deftly played... it's subtle, touching and feels as though it could be unfolding right now at a school near you."

Radio TImes

"a candid glimpse into life at an urban comprehensive... that the film is partly improvised lends it authenticity and its tone ranges from bleak to uplifting without getting sentimental. Full marks." *****

This beautifully observed film publicising a worthy initiative by the charity CLIC Sargent portrays a playground scene with remarkable authenticity. A group of lads are exchanging banter typical of boys their age when one of them reveals that a friend of his - alone on the other side of the playground - is suffering from cancer.

This provokes an interesting response from

the young man who is the clear leader of the group and it's a response that initially creates unease - is he about to humiliate the loner or mock him for his predicament?

Director Misha Manson-Smith and creative director Russ Schaller at Havas have conjured a film that reminds us that cancer sufferers should not be defined by their disease. Our tendency to do this must make the burden of cancer all the harder to bear - especially among teenagers - and the 'joke appeal' initiative is a wonderful way of taking on the disease's stigma.

When he spoke to DAVID about this project, Manson-Smith revealed that only one of the boys in the film had any professional acting experience but that they'd all connected with the material and had worked together to create authentic playground banter.

Like Frank Budgen's Cancer Research film last year, this film has a sparky attitude that challenges our idea of cancer and is an important contribution to a more positive approach being adopted across the board.

Instead of wondering whether we'll defeat cancer by discovering some kind of medicinal panacea, we're starting to recognise that the battle is already being fought in hospital wards up and down the country. And very often it's being won. It's passé to respond to the news that someone's suffering from the disease by wondering how long they've got left to live and - instead - we should recognise that the majority of people diagnosed with cancer are more interested in how they are going to recover.

Manson-Smith's film encourages teenagers to make sure they're not excluding their peers if they find themselves isolated by other people's fears of cancer but - rather wonderfully - it doesn't want them to be treated with kid gloves either.